The Ohio Digital Library is updating the holds limit to a maximum of 20 per cardholder (previously 30). These changes take effect on May 15, 2025. 

FAQs

Why is the Ohio Digital Library making this change? The limit was increased to 30 in 2020 to help meet demand. After 5 years of sustained demand, increasing digital material prices, and the possibility of library funding changes, the current holds limit is not sustainable.  By lowering the hold limit, we also hope to help reduce wait times.  

What if I have over 20 holds after May 15? You will not lose any of those existing holds, but you will not be able to place new ones until you have fewer than 20 holds.   

What if I hit the hold limit? If you finish a book before the lending period is over, you can return them early to help reduce the wait time for others.  But don’t worry if you forget, ebooks and audiobooks will automatically return when the loan period is finished, as always.   

What if I was using the holds feature as a to-be-read list? Try using the tags feature in Libby instead. When using tags, you can create custom lists of books you want to read and organize them to your liking.  If you use the Ohio Digital Library website, ohdbks.overdrive.com, you can add titles to your wish list. If you use Libby and the Ohio Digital Library website, you can import your wish lists into Libby.  

I want to know more about the Ohio Digital Library.Awesome! Please visit this page. 

I want to know more about library funding. If you’re interested in learning more about digital book pricing, you can explore further at this GovTech article: “Behind E-Books, Libraries Find Restrictions and High Costs.”  The State Library of Ohio uses federal funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to administer The Ohio Digital Library.  For information regarding possible library funding changes, please see our website at https://library.ohio.gov/statelibohio-federalfunding.